Forever Searching for Guy Clark’s Kitchen

They don’t make ’em like they used to, whatever it is. Automobiles, houses, guitars, kitchen tables, songs, souls, and warm moments of friends and family, and home and hearth that remain in the hearts of those that were there, forever.
When songwriters like Steve Young, Townes Van Zandt, and Guy Clark were plying their craft on a regular basis, there was still untilled ground left in the English language, and in the country music mold. There were still human emotions, and important moments in everyone’s life that had yet to be set perfectly to song and poetry. There were still nooks and crannies of the human experience that we had all felt, but struggled mightily to put into words.
But these titans of songwriting, they could re-imagine those emotions and moments in lyrics that resonated almost as potently as the emotions and moments themselves, and with such spellbinding alacrity and ease, they almost seemed as gods on earth, weaving magic out of thin air, and allowing the listener to drift off to somewhere miles away from the malaise of modern emotional automation.
It was Christmas Eve, 1975, at the house of Guy and Susanna Clark, and the gang was all there. Sitting around a table cluttered with packs of smokes, whiskey and wine bottles, half-full glasses of libations, heapings of home cooked food growing cold, and a few oil lamps beating back the dark and cold was a cadre of songwriters and musicians who would go on to define the sound of a generation. But they did not know that at the time, and that’s one of the reasons that made the moment so special. They were still hungry, still mostly unknown, and looking to carve out their niche and make their mark.
It was a guitar pull, a jam session around Guy Clark’s kitchen table. There was Guy himself, leading the parade with his wife and fellow songwriter/artist Susanna by his side. Around the table sat a young Rodney Crowell, still nearly 15 years away from recording an impressive five consecutive #1’s. There was a bushy-headed Steve Earle, who nobody had heard of at the time. There was Steve Young, who would become famous for writing “Seven Bridges Road.” And songwriter Jim “James” McGuire, playing dobro. They were expatriated Texans and musical tradesman trading licks in Tennessee, trying to create a sense of home during the Christmas holiday, and trying to express who they were, undoubtedly struggling with their demons and doubts, tired of being poor, and trying to hold on to who they were inside.

In Guy Clark’s kitchen on that Christmas Eve, Steve Young led everyone in a rendition of Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” Steve Earle sang the old Bob Wills /Tommy Duncan tune “Stay A Little Longer.” Rodney Crowell led the kitchen in “Silent Night.” And Guy Clark sang “Country Morning Music.”
You get the sense that such moments happened all the time in the late 60’s through the mid 70’s, beyond the bright lights and big fame of the country music mainstream. They happened at the Dripping Springs Reunion, and at Tompall Glaser’s Hillbilly Central recording studio. But there weren’t any cameras around to capture these moments. It wasn’t like today where people walk around with video cameras on their hips, and a penchant to share everything. It only happened to be that a few guys for a film called Heartworn Highways were looking to document what was happening in the Outlaw underbelly of American country music, and happened to be in that very room with the cameras rolling.
Today, many musical artists attempt to mimic the poetic candidness and camaraderie of that moment in Guy Clark’s kitchen in their personal lives, purposely drinking and smoking too much, making a mess of their own kitchen tables under a false sense that it was the symbolic gestures and careless nature of the whole thing that made these country music songwriting titans cool in their time. The reason the moments around Guy Clark’s kitchen were so magical was because they captured these soon-to-be stars and legends as they genuinely were in that moment in time, totally unaware of what the future would hold for them and their music.
It was catching lightning in a bottle. And that is what we’re all searching for when we listen to a record, go out to a live show, pen or play a song ourselves, invite some friends over for supper and songs, and search for the manna of life with friends that is enhanced that much more through the incredible gift of music.
But too often today that magic isn’t there. All the songs have been sung, all the stories have been told, and all the greats of the past are falling by the wayside. Those nooks and crannies have been discovered, and those emotions sung about ad nauseam. There’s no more frontier. Those moments in Guy Clark’s kitchen are what we live for, but they’re too often fleeting, and too far between in the priority of modern life, and lost in the falsehood of much of today’s music.
READ: Legendary Country Music Songwriter Guy Clark Has Passed Away
A couple of modern day songwriters named Willy “Tea” Taylor and Tom VandenAvond have been touring together under the title of “Searching for Guy Clark’s Kitchen” for years while a camera crew shooing in Super 8 and other formats follows them around. The idea is to try and rekindle the magic that was forged around Guy Clark’s kitchen table that one night, even though that elusive moment may never be found. âItâs gonna be at least 10 years, maybe 20 years before we finish it,” says Willy “Tea” Taylor of the documentary. “I mean, do you ever find Guy Clarkâs kitchen?â
That moment may be more than 40 years past now, but it’s still going on strong in our memories. 2016 has taken Steve Young from that legendary lineup in Guy Clark’s kitchen, Guy wife Susanna left us in 2012, and now its host has left us. But it has only made that moment that more special. The jam session is still going on, all day and well into the night. Friends, food, and music. And will never stop. It just happens to be that the lineup in the afterlife keeps getting better, and the rest of us stuck in this mortal coil have to keep looking back to find the magic.
But Guy Clark’s kitchen is out there, waiting for us all—a place of home and happiness, where friends and promise are all around, and where the music never stops.
May 17, 2016 @ 6:46 pm
Fantastic essay Trigger. Well said.
May 17, 2016 @ 7:46 pm
Amen
May 17, 2016 @ 8:15 pm
I said it a while ago, but I’ll say it again. Trigger, your writing lately has been absolutely fantastic. Thank you so much.
May 17, 2016 @ 8:51 pm
It is worth noting that Jim McGuire is primarily a photographer. His Nashville Portraits are the photographic equivalent of the lightning in a bottle.
http://www.nashvilleportraits.com/2007/web-portraits-gallery.html
We are so lucky that this moment was captured on film. More generally, I would like to be able to recapture the times when ordinary people gathered in the parlor around the piano or on the front porch with a guitar and a fiddle or banjo. I am not sure we can have great, honest music at the center of our culture without it being the center of home life, rather than something we carry around as an individual accessory.
May 17, 2016 @ 10:38 pm
Great article Trigger.
May 18, 2016 @ 12:34 am
A wonderful article…Thank you Trigger. I’s so sad
that so many of these guy ar gone…
R.I.P To all of them
May 18, 2016 @ 5:02 am
Thank you, Trigger!
May 18, 2016 @ 6:03 am
After a night at the Texas Chili Parlor, drinking Mad Dog Margaritas and a free tequila shot on the house in honor of Guy Clark, I came home and read this article. I couldn’t help but shed a few tears. This was a beautiful tribute. Thanks Trigger.
May 18, 2016 @ 6:26 am
‘All the songs have been sung, all the stories have been told, and all the greats of the past are falling by the wayside. Those nooks and crannies have been discovered, and those emotions sung about ad nauseam. Thereâs no more frontier”-
you’ve never been more wrong in your life. …….olds
May 18, 2016 @ 7:09 am
“There’s no more frontier.” Except for that prolific mad genius from the Great Commonwealth of PA, Olds Sleeper. (Nobody sounds like you, brother.)
May 18, 2016 @ 8:42 am
I think some folks are taking some things in this piece a little to literal, and a little too personal. This was written from the fan’s perspective, and overall, in an attempt to show tribute to Guy Clark.
May 18, 2016 @ 8:58 am
and you did a great job, Trigg….this is a beautiful article about a very talented man…and a very cool time in the development of what i consider to be the true country music….but as a songwriter, i am optimistic about the possibilities of song, and the creativity of new writers to find creative ways of expressing experience. …Guy is a big reason i feel that way, ….and townes, and Kris, and Willie, Steve Earle, and Willy tea, and Tommy V, and then there’s a guy who lives a mile or so from me, Dave Lefever, and …
the river keeps going. ….. i just dont buy that “its all been done” idea…keep on writing!
May 18, 2016 @ 9:13 am
I can totally understand from a songwriter or performer’s taking the line that it’s all been done as a little bit presumptuous. That’s a totally fair perspective. What I tried to do with this article was to articulate why we feel such grief when these legends of music pass away, and it’s directly tied to the fear that we will never feel the same way we felt when first hearing these people perform. As a music fan, I hope that’s not the case. I hope there is still new ground to be discovered.
May 19, 2016 @ 6:15 am
I didn’t mean to nitpick. It HAS all been done before, mostly. But I had to jump in and play fanboy for Olds cuz he’s unique (and from PA).
Music doesn’t have to be 110 percent original. It just has to be sincere. What makes good writers become great writers is that quest for sincerity, and that’s where originality dwells, where each can find their unique voice. Too many of us are happy to settle for good, instead of pushing ourselves towards great. It takes guts. And perhaps some friendly competition, like Guy Clark’s Kitchen. (Hey, that rhymes…)
May 18, 2016 @ 6:32 am
Amazing piece. Thanks Kyle.
May 18, 2016 @ 6:54 am
“All the songs have been sung, all the stories have been told…”
Yep. Only a handful of guys can still actually find something novel to write about. Can we please cool it with the album full of love songs, or the stupid idea that “every great song is about a girl?” Bullshit. If you don’t have anything interesting to say, don’t say anything at all.
Guy Clark was one of the greats and Heartworn Highways is one of the greatest documentaries ever made. I was thinking of my favorite Guy Clark songs yesterday and the couple that popped into my mind were, obviously, LA Freeway, but also Fools For Each Other, which is a great song.
Trig, do you know if Guy Clark wrote New Cut Road? I have seen it variously attributed to Clark and Johnny Cash. Thanks.
May 19, 2016 @ 11:22 am
Yes, Guy wrote “New Cut Road”
May 18, 2016 @ 7:42 am
I must have watched that Country Morning Music video 1000x yesterday. Great article, Triggerman.
May 18, 2016 @ 8:50 am
I can hardly wait for the re-release of “Heartworn Highways” given the recent losses of these songwriting giants. http://heartwornhighways.com/revisited/
May 18, 2016 @ 9:56 am
Great article. Quite enlightening.
May 19, 2016 @ 11:28 am
The spirit, creativoty and artistry of Guy and co. can still be found in artists like Todd Snider, Jason Isbell, Elizabeth Cook, Patterson Hood, Mike Cooley, Daniel Hutchens, and many other troubadours who continue to create art because the truth needs to be communicated, especially in the time we live in. That’s not mentioning the direct descendants and peers like Steve, Rodney, Lucinda, Emmylou, etc.
It’s not always that country, but for the most part Guy and Townes didn’t even like country music.
Great article, Trig.
May 21, 2016 @ 11:14 pm
Trigger, you outdid yourself. Best thing I’ve read on this site so far.
It’s amazing what talent there was in that kitchen that night. Let’s not forget also that although Rodney’s hit album Diamonds and Dirt gave him his own #1 hits, he penned a mountain of classics from the kitchen table moment up to his own hits. Waylon famously covered his “Ain’t Living Long Like This”, The Oak Ridge Boys recorded his “Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight”, Crystal Gayle, Emmylou Harris, and Willie all recorded “‘Til I Gain Control Again”, Bob Seger recorded “Shame On The Moon”, Jimmy Buffett covered “Stars On The Water”, and all that was before 1988. Plus, since then Alan Jackson’s covered “Song for the Life”, Tim McGraw hit with “Please Remember Me” and Keith Urban scored with “Making Memories of Us”. The man is a machine….and it all started in Guy’s kitchen, where he has said, he finished “‘Til I Gain Control Again”.
May 10, 2017 @ 5:50 pm
Well writ for certain. Ya know I have been writing songs for forty years now. Nothing you’re likely to hear. There’s something about the great story tellers of the Appalachians that inspired me to become a writer and I see that same mark on a lot of these cats and all of my personal favorites. You know I like the Americana tag a lot because I always felt like Country and Western didn’t fit these guys. I mean yeah you listen to them talk and they’re country or southern as hell but that’s their accent. Where I come from they tend to call it Bluegrass, Mountain Music, I’ve even heard it called Hillbilly Music. To people like us it’s just music. Its just how we sound when we play. Somebody gave me a ukelele and taught me a couple of chords one time. When we caught up again I was playing it all wrong I guess but they were tripping on how I was doing these thee finger rolls and stuff. Sounded like a loose and swampy mandolin honestly. Its just they way we play. We think we’re playing Rock-n-Roll and to us we are.
August 29, 2017 @ 8:26 pm
Incredible perception in your remarks, love the way you build these writers up and give them and our kind respect. Songwriting like this is a lost art for many. Thanks
May 10, 2019 @ 9:34 am
I have cried the tears for Guy Clark he found for his father when he received the Randall Knife. My wife does not understand-and she is from Pa., the Texas sized emotion I feel for someone I barely knew. I lived my life to Guy Clark songs. I courted her to them. I have never heard and will never again here the genius use of the English language. I believe Steve Earl was correct when he made the Dylan remark. I miss that I will never go to the Clark’s basement and try and capture the genius in songwriting, most of all I miss him. Thank you for this article, wonderful. Appreciated.
May 21, 2020 @ 10:10 am
Just foud ths youtube, John Prine singing that “happy enchilada” in his kitchen. It certenaly has that Heartworn Highways feel to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNu46mpJC60